Vertical broiler



Jan. 11, 1966 P. w. MILLER VERTICAL BROILER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 25 1964 c o o w yo 0 0 3 INVENTOR. PAUL W MILLER AT TORN EYS l a z 4 6 z a 6 m 5 a a 5 m W V w 6 m D E i 1 Il| ll 1, 0 V I P a M 3 w d J w d wd dwd o q W V L 5 U a k 5 6 M M Y 7 7 in B z 6 5/ 8 3 I 3 M i ni fi a a w 5 P. W. MILLER VERTICAL BROILER Jan. 11, 1966 Filed Sept. 25 1964 niiii r ATTORNEYS Jan. 11, 1966 P. w. MILLER VERTICAL BROILER 5 Sheets-Sheet 15 Filed Sept. 25, 1964 INVENTOR.

PAUL W M/LLf/Q BY ZMM /W ATTO/P/I/z. Y5

3,228,319 VERTI JAL BRGILER Paul W. Miller, 827 W. South St, Kalamazoo, Mich. Filed Sept. 25, 1964, Ser. No. 469,639 4 (Italians. (Ci. 99389) This application is a continuation in part of my patent application Serial No. 204,529, filed June 22, 1%2, now abandoned.

This invention relates in general to a vertical broiler and, more particularly, to an improved broiler construction which can be manufactured more economically and operated more easily than existing structures for the same or similar purposes.

The vertical broiler, of the type having a pair of spaced and substantially vertical charcoal beds, has many advantages over the conventional, pan-type broiler with a horizontal charcoal bed. Some of these advantages have been discussed in detail in my Patent No. 2,975,698 and in my latcnt No. 3356344. In a continuing effort to develop a better vertical broiler, I have found that the essential and desirable features of the vertical broilers disclosed in said patent and said patent application can be provided in a broiler construction capable of being produced at a very modest cost. More specifically, it was found that some of the costly features contained in existing vertical broilers can be avoided or eliminated by redesign, thereby reducing very substantially the cost of the finished product.

Moreover, it was also found that, by minor additions to the improved structure, additional utility could be achieved from the improved vertical broiler while still holding its cost substantially below the previous cost for the vertical broiler, only. Furthermore, it was found that certain changes in said vertical broilers would simplify the cleaning and maintaining of the vertical broiler. Also, the procedure for extinguishing the ignited charcoal could be more effective and efficient at little or no additional cost.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention has been the provision of an improved vertical broiler having all of the essential and desirable features and elements of existing vertical charcoal broilers, including those disclosed in my above-mentioned patent and patent application and, at the same time, having certain additional features and advantages, including a substantially lower initial cost.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a vertical broiler, as aforesaid, having an improved food-holding structure particularly capable of use with the improved broiler.

A further obiect of this invention has been the provision of a vertical charcoal broiler, as aforesaid, which is portable, which is very easy to clean, which requires a minir of charcoal to perform the broiling operation, which is arranged so that the charcoal can be quickly and easily ignited or extinguished with a minimum amount of effort, and which is simple to assemble and operate.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a vertical broiler, as aforesaid, with which a portable, removable oven is provided for simultaneous or separate operation with the broiling function of the vertical broiler.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent to persons familiar with broilers upon reading the following descriptive material and examining the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my improved vertical broiler including an improved food holder.

FEGURE 2 is a top plan view of said vertical broiler with the food holder disposed therein.

3,228,3i9 Patented Jan. 11, 1966 FIGURE 3 is an exploded, sectional view taken along the line IIIIII in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-lV in FIGURE 2 with all but a fragment of the food holder removed.

FIGURE 5 is an exploded, perspective view of said food holder.

FIGURE 6 is an end elevational view of said food holder with a broken-line showing of food therein.

FIGURE 7 is an edge View of the handle for said food holder with a portion of the food holder shown in broken mes.

FIGURE 8 is a broken, top plan view of a modified structure including the improved vertical broiler.

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX- X in FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 10 is a fragment of an alternate base member.

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view of part of a modilied vertical broiler embodying the invention.

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken along the line XlIXiI in FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view taken along the line liIXlil in FIGURE 12.

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower and words of similar import will have reference to the vertical broiler, the food holder supported therein and the oven supported thereon as appearing in FIGURES 1 and 9. The terms inner, outer and derivatives thereof will have reference to the geometric center of said broiler and parts associated therewith.

General description The vertical broiler of the invention includes a base member upon which a substantially cylindrical container is removably supported. Perforate partition means, which defines an enclosure having open upper and lower ends, is disposed within the container so that it defines a food compartment centrally disposed within said container and two charcoal compartments located on opposite sides of the food compartment. The bottom wall of the container has an opening under the food compartment. Top and bottom closure means are provided for the cylindrical container whereby the chamber within the container can be substantially completely closed to extinguish the ignited charcoal quickly by suffocation.

A food holder formed of two grill members and means for holding said grill members together is removably supported within the food compartment by a handle which is supported upon the container. An oven unit is removably supported upon the vertical broiler.

Detailed construction The vertical broiler It (FIGURE 1) which has been selected to illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, includes a base member 11, a food and charcoal container 12, which is removably supported upon the base member 11, and a partition member 13 which is removably diposed within the container 12.

The base member 11 includes a shallow receptacle M which may be in the form of a conventional, circular pie tin having a bottom wall 16 and a side wall 17 with a sidewardly extending flange 18 at its upper edge. The base member 11 also includes a rectangular tray 19 preferably fabricated from an endless rod member so that it has substantially parallel end elements 22; and 23 and substantially parallel side elements 24 and 25. The side elements 24 and 25 are about equal in length to the diameter of the side Wall 17 and they are spaced from each other a distance somewhat less than the diameter of the container 12, so that the end elements 22 and 23, which are downwardly offset from the side elements,

can be flexed outwardly around and then under the flange 18 on diametrically opposite sides thereof. The side elements 24 and 25 have downwardly offset central portions 27 and 28 which form the shoulders 29 and 31) in said side elements 24 and 25. Said shoulders 29 and 30 are spaced from the central axis of the receptacle 14 a distance slightly greater than the radius of the container 12 for snug reception of the lower end of said container between said shoulders. When the container 12 is supported upon said tray 19 between said shoulders, the lower edge of the container is spaced downwardly slightly from the plane defined by the flange 18 and is also spaced above the bottom wall 16.

A flat, circular liner 31 (FIGURE 3), which has a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the bottom wall 16 of the recetpacle 14, is removably disposed within said receptacle 14 to catch fats and the like which drop from foods held in the container 12. The liner 31 can be made from any suitable and heat-resistant material, such as aluminum foil.

The container 12 (FIGURES 2 and 3) has a substantially cylindrical side wall 33 and a circular bottom wall 34 which, like the receptacle 14, are preferably fabricated from sheet metal, such as steel. The bottom Wall 34 has a diametrically disposed opening 36 which extends diametrically across the bottom wall 34 and which is preferably slightly narrower than one-third of the diameter of the container 12. However, the size and shape of the opening 36 can be varied somewhat without departing from the invention.

The partition member 13 (FIGURES 2, 3 and 4) is preferably fabricated from perforate material, such as expanded sheet metal, which is arranged in a substantially rectangular enclosure having open upper and lower ends. The partition member 13 includes a pair of substantially parallel side walls 37 and 38 (FIGURES 2 and 3) and a pair of end walls 41 and 42 (FIGURES 2 and 4) which are integral with and extend between the corresponding edges of the side walls 37 and 38. The end walls 41 and 42 are preferably, but not necessarily, curved so that they are adjacent to and conform with the side wall 33 of the container 12, as appearing in FIGURE 2. The side walls 37 and 33 of the partition member 13 are preferably spaced from each other a distance slightly greater than one-third of the diameter of the container 12 so that they can rest upon the bottom wall 34 adjacent to and spaced slightly from the parallel, lengthwise edges 43 and 44 of the opening 36. The vertical length of the partition member 13 (FIGURE 4) is preferably slightly less than the vertical extent of the container 12 for reasons appearing hereinafter.

A pair of notches 46 and 47 (FIGURE 4) are provided in the upper edge of the side wall 33 of the container 12, and the upper edge of the partition member 13 is preferably disposed just below said notches 46 and 47. Said notches are preferably disposed at the opposite ends of the diameter of the container 12 which is parallel with and directly above the central lengthwise axis of the opening 36 of the bottom wall 34, as appearing in FIG- URE 2. A brace bar 48 is secured to, and extends between, portions of the side wall 33 of the container 12 near the upper end thereof where its opposite ends are secured to said container side wall by means, such as the rivets 49. The brace bar 48 is positioned within the container 12 so that it is adjacent the side wall 37 of the partition member 13 (FIGURE 2) when said partition member is in its proper position within the container 12. Thus, the brace bar 48 serves as a guide for properly aligning the partition member 13 with the lengthwise extent of the opening 36 in the bottom wall 34.

The food holder 52 (FIGURES 2, and 6) includes a pair of separable grill members 53 and 54 which are preferably fabricated from metal rod, but which can be fabricated from expanded sheet metal secured to reinforcing rod elements. The grill member 53, which may be referred to as the holding gr-ill, has a pair of side elements 56 and 57 which are substantially parallel and have semicircular end portions 58 and 58a, and 59 and 59a, respectively. A plurality of spaced and parallel cross rods 62 are rigidly secured at their corresponding ends to, and extend between, the side elements 56 and 57, including their end portions 58, 58a, 59 and 5%. The cross rods 62 are preferably, but not necessarily, disposed upon the inner sides of the side elements 56 and 57, with reference to the entire food holder 52.

The cross rods 62a and 62b, which extend between the free ends of the curved end portions of the side elements 56 and 57 (FIGURES 5 and 6) are preferably spaced from each other a distance slightly greater than the vertical extent of the substantially rectangular grill member 54, which may be referred to as the cover grill. Said cover grill 54 has a pair of parallel and spaced, upper and lower end elements 63 and 64 which are spaced from each other a distance slightly less than the distance between the cross rods 62a and 62b on the holding grill 53. A plurality of cross rods 66 are rigidly secured to and extend between the end elements 63 and 64-. The two outermost cross rods 66a and 66b are preferably spaced from each other about the same distance as the spacing between the side elements 56 and 57 of the holding grill 53.

A flexibly resilient elongated and arcuate spring member 67 (FIGURES 5 and 6) is pivotally supported intermediate its ends upon the central portions of a pair of centrally disposed cross rods 66 by means including the pivot pin 68. The spring member 67 is preferably arranged so that its concave side faces away from the cover grill 54. The spring member 67 is slightly longer than the perpendicular distance between the cross rods 62a and 62b for engagement therewith, whereby the cover grill 54 can be resiliently urged toward the holding grill 53. Thus, the food, such as meat, which is indicate-d in broken lines at '72 in FIGURE 6, can be held under some compression by the spring member 67 between the cover grill 54 and holding grill 53. This compression force needs only to be strong enough to hold the cover grill 54 against said food, because the holding grill 53 is designed, as shown in FIGURE 6, to prevent downward or upward movement of the food.

The food holder 52 (FIGURE 2) is loosely receivable down into the food compartment 73 defined between the side Walls 37 and 38 of the partition member 13. Said food holder (FIGURES 2 and 7) is supported upon the inwardly projecting, substantially coaxial end portions 74 and 75 0f the handle 77. The handle 77 is preferably curved on a radius slightly greater than the radius of the container 12. The end portions 74 and 75 have inner adjacent parts 78 and 79 which are offset downwardly and sidewardly toward the remainder of the handle 77, as shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. The curved end portions 58 and 59 on the side elements 56 and 57, respectively, are respectively supported upon the inner parts 78 and 79 of the handle 77. The end portions 74 and 75, outwardly of the inner parts 78 and 79, are snugly and slidably received, respectively, into the notches 46 and 47 in the upper edge of the side wall 33, whereby the food holder 52 (FIGURE 2) is pivotally and freely supported within the food compartment 7 3. By offsetting the inner parts 78 and 79 of the handle 77 toward the remainder of the handle, as shown in FIGURE 6, the weight of the food holder 72, which is suspended from the inner parts 78 and 79, holds the bight 82 of the handle 77 away from the side wall 33 of the container 12, while the broiler 10 is being utilized, thereby keeping the handle 77 cool.

Heat is generated in the broiler 10 (FIGURE 2) by solid fuel, such as charcoal briquets indicated by broken lines at 83 in FIGURE 2. The briquets 83 are placed within the charcoal compartments 84 and 85, which are located on opposite sides of the food compartment 73 within the container 12. The intensity of the heat developed by the charcoal 83 can be controlled over a substantially wide range by controlling the number of charcoal bn'quets placed within the compartments 84 and 35.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the broiler 16 preferably includes upper and lower closure members 86 and 87, respectively, which can be used to extinguish the ignited charcoal 83. The two closure members may be similar, flat receptacles, such as pie tins, which will conveniently nest with the receptacle 14. The upper closure member as may also be inverted from its FIGURE 4 position and used as a damper to control the amount of heated air escaping from the upper end of the container, hence the amount of oxygen drawn into the lower end of the container 12 to replace the escaping air. This, of course, will control the intensity of the heat produced by charcoal in the container.

An oven 90 (FIGURES 8 and 9) may be removably supported upon the upper end of the broiler 19 for either separate use or combined use with the broiler. The oven 9% includes a cylindrical body 91 which is preferably, but not necessarily, of approximately the same diameter as the container 12. Said body 91 has a lower end portion 92 of reduced diameter and of relatively short axial length, which defines an annular shoulder 3 within the cylindrical body 91. The lower edge of the reduced end 92 of the oven may have a bead 94 on its peripheral surface for strength purposes. Preferably, the head 94 is slightly, but only slightly, larger in outside diameter than the inside diameter of a corresponding, inwardly projecting bead 96 on the upper edge of the container 12. Thus, when the lower end 92 of the oven 91' is inserted into the upper end of the container 12, the bead will pass downwardly through the bead 95 and form a slight interlock to prevent accidental disengagement of the oven 9%? from the broiler 10. A pair of diametrically opposed recesses, one of which is shown at 97 in FIGURE 9, are provided in the lower edge of the reduced end Z so that there will be no interference between the reduced end 92 and the upper end of the partition member 13 or the opposing end portions 74- and 75 of the handle 77, when the oven $9 is placed upon the broiler 19. The recesses 7 can be greatly reduced in size by reducing the height of the partition member 13 so that it is below the lower end 92 of the oven 99. In such case, the recesses are required to receive only the end portions 74 and 75 of the handle.

A plurality, here four, of vent openings 98 (FIGURE 9) are preferably provided in the body 91 near the upper edge thereof. These openings may be carefully selected for size so that substantially the correct amount of gas can escape therethrough when the upper end of the oven 9%) is covered by means such as the closure member 86, during a baking or roasting operation without suffocating the fire in the container 12. This procedure also maintains the desired temperature within the oven, as indicated by the removable thermometer disclosed by broken lines at 1% in FIGURE 9. The thermometer 18$) may be of any conventional type which can be hung within the oven 9%) from the upper edge thereof.

A circular tray 1&2 is reinovabiy mounted upon the shoulder 93 within the oven 9% for supporting food therein. The tray 1432 is preferably perforate, and may be fabricated from expanded sheet metal.

Operation The vertical broiler may be utilized to broil food held in a food holder 52, or the like, by following rather simple instructions. The partition member 13 (FIGURES l and 2) is placed in the container 12, which is supported upon the side elements 24 and 25 of the tray 19, which in turn is supported upon the receptacle 14. A liner 31 is placed in the bottom of the receptacle 14, and charcoal 83 (FIGURE 2) is placed in the charcoal compartments 4 and S5 in an amount which, based upon recommendations resulting from tests, will produce the proper heat for the broiling operation to be performed. While the 6 food holder 52 is out of the food compartment 73, a small amount of newspaper or the like is placed within the food compartment and ignited. Under normal circumstances, a relatively small amount of paper, burned near the bottom of the container 12, will ignite the charcoal. This ignition may be accelerated by placing a small amount of igniting fluid upon the charcoal in a conventional manner.

After the charcoal has been permitted to burn for a few minutes, so that it is properly ignited, the food holder 52 (FIGURE 6) is loaded with food 72, such as meat, and lowered into the food compartment 93 until the end portions 74 and 75 of the handle 77 come to rest within the notches 46 and 47, respectively, in the upper edge of the container 12. The food will immediately begin to broil on all surfaces thereof due to the surrounding heat produced by the charcoal within the broiler. The fats or other byproducts of the cooking operation, which drip from the food holder, drop through the opening 36 of the bottom wall 34 and onto the liner 31 in the receptacle 14. However, such byproducts cannot drop into the charcoal beds disposed within the charcoal compartments 84 and 85. Moreover, the products of combustion from the burning charcoal 83 (FIGURE 2) are prevented from dropping into the receptacle 14 and thereby igniting the materials caught by the liner 31.

When the broiling operation has been completed, the charcoal fire can be easily and quickly extinguished by placing the closure members 86 and 87 over the upper and lower ends of the container 12, and then resting the lower closure member 87 upon the tray 19, as shown in FlGURE 4. Ordinarily, the charcoal fire dies in a matter of minutes after the ends of the container have been thusly closed.

The space between the lower end of the container 12 and the walls of the receptacle 14 is such that adequate draft is maintained for proper combustion within the broiler and an intense broiling heat. Moreover, since the air must move beneath and adjacent the bottom wall 34 of the container 12 in order to be drawn by normal draft up through the container, such air movement also tends to cool the bottom wall 34 and thereby increase its useful life, by reducing the damage thereto from the heat of the charcoal. Moreover, this draft arrangement prevents sidewardly directed gusts of wind from adversely affecting the broiling operation. By resting the upper closure member 86 in an upwardly opening position upon the upper end of the container 12, said closure member 86 may be used as a damper to control the amount of heat within the container, hence the broiling action within the food compartment.

It will be seen by reference to FIGURES 5 and 6 that the food holder 52 can be supported upon the handle 77 (FIGURE 6) or in an inverted position. Thus by reversmg the position of the food holder, top to bottom, within the food compartment 73, the escape of juices from one end thereof can be reversed and thereby diminish. The fiexibiiity of the spring member 67 is such that the food holder 52 can support food having a wide range of thicknesses.

The oven 9% can be used quickly and easily by placing same upon the upper end of the container 12 either while the broiler is being operated to broil food held in the food compartment 73, or after such broiling has been completed. Under normal circumstances, the closure memer 8%; is placed over the upper open end of the oven 91 to retain the heat therein for the baking or roasting operation. The food to be baked can be placed directly upon the tray 102, or it can be wrapped in foil, for example, in a conventional manner.

Cleaning of the vertical broiler 10, the food holder 52 and the oven 9! is relatively simple. The closure members and 87 can obviously be Washed like any pie tin. The tray 1G2 can be removed from the oven 90 and both can be washed quickly and easily. The tray 19 can be removed from the receptacle 14, and both can be cleaned easily. The drippings from the food are caught in the disposable liner 31, which can be thrown away. The pan tition member 13 can be removed from the container 12 and both can then be easily washed. Under normal circumstances and Where a liner 31 is used, it may be entirely unnecessary to wash anything more than the food holder 52 after the broiler and/ or the oven 90 have been used. The food holder 52 can be washed easily by separating the two grills from each other and washing them as any other kitchen utensil is washed. Any charcoal remaining in the broiler after the broiling operation has been completed can be left in the broiler for the next broiling op eration, particularly where the partition member 13 is not removed.

FIGURE 10 illustrates a modified receptacle 14a in which the tray 107 is substantially level except for the upward projections 108 which serve the same purpose as the shoulders 29 and 30 at the opposite ends of the central portions 27 and 28 in the tray 19. That is, the lower end of the container 12 is held in place upon the tray 1117 by the projections 1118. The receptacle 14a has a substantially vertical side wall, and a pair of flanges, one of which appears at 111, extending from the upper edge of the side wall 109. These flanges are coplanar and are preferably disposed on diametrically opposite sides of the side wall so that each flange can be engaged by an end element 112 of the tray 107, thereby holding said tray upon the receptacle 14a.

The modified container 120 (FIGURES 11, 12 and 13) has a cylindrical side wall 121 which may be substantially identical with the cylindrical side wall 33 of the container 12 (FIGURE 1). Accordingly, the side wall 121 is capable of being supported by a tray 19a upon and above a base member 11a, and the upper edge of the side wall contains notches 122 and 123 for reception of portions of a handle, such as the handle 71 shown in FIGURE 1.

The container 120 differs from the container 12 primarily in that the container 120 has a pair of diametrically opposed, fixed charcoal holders 125 and 126 which are rigidly secured within the container 120. More specifically, said charcoal holders 125 and 126 have spaced, opposing and perforate inner walls 127 and 128, respectively, which extend vertically upwardly from, and are aligned with, theopposite lengthwise edges of the opening 129 (FIGURE 12) in the bottom wall 131 of the container 120. The holders 125 and 126 have upright, channelshaped wall members 132 and 133 which define the side and outer walls of the charcoal holders 125 and 126, respectively. Said channel-shaped wall members are secured, as by rivets, to the side wall 121 of the container 120 and the inner walls 127 and 128 are, in this particular embodiment, secured to the wall members 132 and 133, respectively. Accordingly, the charcoal briquets 83, or the like, are held within the charcoal holders 125 and 126, the bottom walls of which are provided by the bottom wall 131 of the container 120, on opposite sides of the food compartment 137.

The air space provided by the chambers 135 and 136 between the side wall 121 and the adjacent portions of the wall members 132 and 133 help to insulate the side wall 121 from the heat produced by said charcoal. Moreover, all of the heat necessary to perform a complete broiling operation can be produced by a single, vertical layer of ignited charcoal briquets. Thus, there is no need for more space than is required for such single vertical layer of briquets on each side of the food compartment 137.

When the broiling operation has been completed, the ignited charcoal can be quickly extinguished by placing the closure members 86 and 87 (FIGURE 4), for example, over the upper and lower ends of the container 120 in substantially the same manner as discussed above with respect to the container 12. The flanges 138 and 139 on the upper ends of the wall members 132 and 133, respectively, extend partly over the chambers 135 and 135, to minimize accidental deposit of charcoal into said chambers 135 and 136 during the preparation of the modified container for use.

The inner walls 127 and 128 are preferably spaced from each other a distance less than approximately half, but not materially less than a third, of the diameter of the side wall 121. This spacing relationship which also applies to the side walls 37 and 38 in the container 12, is made possible by the fact that applicants invention concerns a relatively compact and portable broiler designed for family use. While this preferred spacing is not intended to limit specifically the size of the unit in terms of inches, it will be recognized that the type of cooking which will be performed will advantageously place the dimensions of the broiler within a preferred range. That is, since it is known that steaks, chops and the like will be broiled in this structure, the space between the walls 127 and 128 cannot exceed the distance at which proper, simultaneous heating of both sides of the food can be accomplished when such food is in the food compartment 137. Also, since the broiler is small and portable, both the vertical height and diameter of the container will preferably be in the range of from 8 to 15 inches.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail above for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which lie within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

What is claimed is: 1. A small, portable and vertical broiler, capable of holding ignited charcoal comprising:

a substantially cylindrical, upwardly opening and portable container having a side wall and a bottom wall;

partition means including a pair of spaced, perforate and substantially parallel wall means extending between corresponding portions of said side wall to define therewith a pair of separated compartments on opposite sides of said partition means, said perforate wall means being spaced from each other a distance not greater than about one-half of the diameter of said container and defining an upwardly opening food chamber;

means defining an opening in the bottom wall of said container, said opening extending diametrically and substantially across said bottom wall parallel with said perforate wall means and being approximately equal in width to the perpendicular distance between said wall means whereby said food chamber is open at its lower end;

a food holder and hanger for inserting said food holder downwardly into said food chamber and for removably supporting said food holder upon the upper portion of said container and between the perforate wall means;

a relatively shallow receptacle adapted to be positioned near to and directly below the bottom wall of said container, said receptacle extending under substantially the entire lower end of the container;

support means secured to, and having a portion spaced from the bottom of, said receptacle for separably engaging and thereby supporting said container spaced from said receptacle, said support means being arranged to position said receptacle so that ambient air can pass between said receptacle and said bottom wall of said container and thence upwardly through said opening in said bottom wall; and

a pair of closure members engageable with the upper and lower ends of said container, the lower closure member being removably placeable between said container and said support means, for substantially totally enclosing with said container the zone defined by the container whereby the ignited charcoal within said zone can be quickly extinguished.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said parallel wall means are interconnected and removably received into said container; and including a brace member secured within said container and extending in a direction substantially parallel with the length of said opening in the bottom wall thereof, said brace member being closely adjacent one of said perforate wall means when said partition means is disposed within said container, said container having a pair of diametrically disposed slots in the upper edge thereof.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said perforate wall means are rigidly secured to said container and wherein said partition means includes a pair of channelshaped wall members disposed upon opposite sides of said perforate wall means and opening toward each other, the opposite vertical edges of said perforate wall means being engaged by the corresponding edges of said channelshaped wall means which are rigidly secured to said container to define said separate compartments and space same from substantial portions of the side wall of said container.

4. A vertical broiler, comprising:

a substantially cylindrical, upwardly opening container having a side wall and a bottom wall;

a partition member having a pair of spaced, perforate and substantially parallel walls extending between corresponding portions of said side wall, said partition member being removably receivable into said container, and being no longer than the axial length of said container;

means defining an opening in the bottom wall of said container, said opening extending diametrically across said bottom wall and being approximately equal in width to the perpendicular distance between said perforate walls of said partition member;

a food holder and hanger means for removably sup porting said food holder upon said container and between said perforate walls, said hanger means including a substantially U-shaped handle having end portions extending toward each other and removably engageable with said container, said end portions having oflset parts projecting out of the plane defined by said handle for removably engaging and supporting said food holder, whereby the weight of the food holder tends to urge said handle member away from the side wall of the container upon which the handle member is supported;

a relatively shallow receptacle having a diameter substantially larger than the diameter of said container adjacent the bottom wall thereof; and

support elements secured to and extending across said receptacle, said elements being spaced from the bottom of said receptacle for supporting said container upon and spaced from said receptacle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 4,619 10/1871 Lee 99-450 1,018,116 2/1912 Kowalksi 99-421 1,836,894 12/ 1931 Bedigian. 2,124,837 7/1938 Triolo 99-389 2,138,967 12/1938 Harris 99-416 X 2,502,233 3/ 1950 Rom 126-275 2,573,211 10/1950 Menzier 126-25 2,923,229 2/1960 Halford 99-339 3,056,344 10/ 1962 Miller 99-402 X FOREIGN PATENTS 101,214 5/1937 Australia.

14,440 11/ 1886 Great Britain.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner. ROBERT E. PULFREY, Examiner, 

4. A VERTICAL BROILER, COMPRISING: A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL, UPWARDLY OPENING CONTAINER HAVING A SIDE WALL AND A BOTTOM WALL; A PARTITION MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED, PERFORATE AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WALLS EXTENDING BETWEEN CORRESPONDING PORTIONS OF SAID SIDE WALL, SAID PARTITION MEMBER BEING REMOVABLY RECEIVABLE INTO SAID CONTAINER, AND BEING NO LONGER THAN THE AXIAL LENGTH OF SAID CONTAINER; MEANS DEFINING AN OPENING IN THE BOTTOM WALL OF SAID CONTAINER, SAID OPENING EXTENDING DIAMETRICALLY ACROSS SAID BOTTOM WALL AND BEING APPROXIMATELY EQUAL IN WIDTH TO THE PERPENDICULAR DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID PERFORATE WALLS OF SAID PARTITION MEMBER; A FOOD HOLDER AND HANGER MEANS FOR REMOVABLY SUPPORTING SAID FOOD HOLDER UPON SAID CONTAINER AND BETWEEN SAID PERFORATE WALLS, SAID HANGER MEANS INCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED HANDLE HAVING END PORTIONS EXTENDING TOWARD EACH OTHER AND REMOVABLE ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID CONTAINER, SAID END PORTIONS HAVING OFFSET PARTS PROJECTING OUT OF THE PLANE DEFINED BY SAID HANDLE FOR REMOVABLY ENGAGING AND SUPPORTING SAID FOOD HOLDER, WHEREBY THE WEIGHT OF THE FOOD HOLDER TENDS TO URGE SAID HANDLE MEMBER AWAY FROM THE SIDE WALL OF THE CONTAINER UPON WHICH THE HANDLE MEMBER IS SUPPORTED; A RELATIVELY SHALLOW RECEPTACLE HAVING A DIAMETER SUBSTANTIALLY LARGER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID CONTAINER ADJACENT THE BOTTOM WALL THEREOF; AND SUPPORT ELEMENTS SECURED TO AND EXTENDING ACROSS SAID RECEPTACLE, SAID ELEMENTS BEING SPACED FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID RECEPTACLE FOR SUPPORTING SAID CONTAINER UPON AND SPACED FROM SAID RECEPTACLE. 